Various

Too Young To Die (2003)

When I started to review this CD, my original intent was to take notes on the bad tracks to back up my dislike for them with actual proof. By song 5, I had given up on this practice because my notebook page was full.

"Too Young To Die was created by Deep Elm and its Artists to provide education, increase recognition and prevent suicide. A portion of its proceeds from the sale of tickets, CD samplers and merchandise will be donated to The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing our knowledge of suicide and our ability to prevent it."

Before you ask why I included blurb from the back cover, I'll tell you: there is a just and worthy cause behind this CD, and I support it in every which way shape and form, only I'm not sure this CD completed its goal as stated in the above paragraph. After listening to it all the way through, I don't feel like I've been educated or become more aware of suicide.

This paragraph, then, must be referring to the opening track which consists of an acoustic guitar with testimonials looped over it. I'm sorry, but what was said here seemed to be taken directly from a bad ineffective junior high promotional video. People are more apt to listen to something if it's told to them outright than if it's presented in a cheesy manner.

And on to the music reviews.

This sampler is chock full of crap. It's full of slightly varied genres, but they all have one thing in common: they suck. It would be far too much effort to try and outline bad points, so I'll stick to the good points.

1. the killer bass line at 2:22 in "Hope" by Red Animal War. The rest of the song is mediocre at best.
2. The Appleseed Cast - this is just a great band. Hands down good music. Can't fool with it.
3. "Find Your Way" by Lewis - A supremely refreshing song in the middle of a sludge pile. It consists of a trade of of guitar and keyboard riffs with refreshingly distinct vocals. Choice cut for this album.

And alas, I cannot offer any more positive input about this CD, so I will leave you with some positive things to think about:

1. This isn't the only way to support anti-suicide movements. The old fashioned donating method is still available, and, you can be assured how much of your money is going towards it instead of the cryptic "a portion" that record labels advertise.
2. The beginning of the Planes Mistaken For Stars song sounds like Marc Cohen. But that's the only good part about it. So if you want, you can play Planes Mistaken for Stars and just pretend that they're sing "Walking in Memphis," or, you can just not buy this CD and listen to the real Marc Cohen song.
3. The Appleseed Cast. Check 'em out.

And now, the most important part of this review, the website for The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: www.afsp.org. Please check out this website and donate if you are able.